Tuesday, April 30, 2013

Well I decided to go back to my RPGs old Name Classic Fantasy Role Playing Game. A big wow there. In a low place and have some creativity but it is scattered. Expected there to be a better response to the game. Oh well at least I can say I did it.

Some of my other RPGs like my Free Form Supers Game are works in progress. An RPG that frees one up to just play. I think that I will add Destiny points or something like that that will allow some more narrative control. I was also thinking about having a really simple Hit Point, Damage, and Defense added. I mean simple. The average person would have 100 HPs and an average punch would do 10 points.

The Black Stairs Servant's quarters.Dalkon
get's let down on rope and he gets shot at by 2 goblins. Aowen goes
down below to help. As well as Eva, Belenard, and Marts. Eachern and
Melenard tie rope to bush and go down. Belenard proves to be a great
shot! Killing one of the goblins and the Dwarf kills the other but not
until Melenard is horribly injured! Two goblins are dispatched. Three
more goblins come out. The party quickly dispatches them all but poor
Marts is killed. The adventurer's explore the rest of the servant's
quarters and find much gold and an amulet of protection.

They
find door on the western end on the main hallway with a warning written
in goblin”No go in here” The Cleric feels unholiness in the area and
decides to go to the door to the south instead that opens up into a
three way hallway.

The western hallway has a smell (Now as a
house rule Dwarves will be able to tell the different kinds of humanoids
by their smell!) of some kind of humanoid but the dwarf can't tell what
it was. The southern hallway opens up into a green house. The eastern hallway goes down to a room with a lit fire. The
players go south into the greenhouse and find two knotted ropes coming
down. The cleric decides to cut the ropes ten foot up as the Elf decides
to climb up the rope. She finds a mulemaster and a pack mule. The
mulemaster is heavily question by the elf as the dwarf climbs up. The
dwarf finds out that two of the NPCs that were not hired Raph and Tran
have decided to come to the Black Stairs themselves. The Dwarf pays the
mulemaster 3 gold and tells him to cut the rope when they get back down.
The elf and dwarf climb back down and the rope begins to get pulled
back up with the mulemaster explaining that he did not have a knife to
cut the rope so he would just pull it up. The Dwarf runs and leaps
grabbing the rope. The mulemaster surprised by this does not let go of
the rope and accidentally gets pulled down headfirst to his death 20
feet below. The party rolls in laughter with this strange turn of
events.The party then decides to go down the eastern hallway and the
elf scouts down the hall and sees three goblins completely distracted
by something farther down the hallway. The elf decides to sneak up and
gives a battle cry too early allowing the goblins a chance to attack but
somehow they all miss. The party quickly dispatches the goblins and
find an old mine, 6 slaves and a freshly dug gold mine with many nuggets
of gold.

The party decides to get the heck back to Raven's Keep
and right in the servant's quarters they are ambushed by Raph and Tran.
Raph and Tran attack with crossbow and Spear and miss! They close in
and the Dwarf is killed (CRIT!) by Tran as well as Melenad and Beledad.
The cleric is taken out as well as the elf but she does manage to kill
Raph. Only Eva the thief is left standing as she fires her arrows at
Tran hitting him but he still is up. She drops her bow and draws her
sword as the battle axe barely misses. They both make a last strike his
axe cutting her nearly to death and her blade hitting the mark killing
Tran. She tires to heal the cleric and fails and succeeds on the elf who
quickly pours a potion of healing that they found earlier in the
cleric's mouth.

They limp back to town.

I use the Dave Arneson method of spend the gold in order to get the Experience Points for it.

The
cleric is a worshiper of Bobber the god of fishing. He find the temple
of Bobber in great disrepair and their acolytes lax. The local priest of
Bobber is an old man who claims to be 115 years old. Much gold is
spent getting the temple in repair.

The Thief spends her money on much partying.

The
Elf Thief spends her money of a fully armored warhorse. A new set of
armor, some caltrops, a couple of tattoos, new fancy sets of clothing,
and the rest is wasted on partying.

The brother of the Dwarf
comes to the city looking for his brother. He is saddened to find that
he is dead and is gladdened to find he died in battle with honor.

The party hires the following NPCs Mark the Fighter M Chain and Shield with Sword.The Band of Dwarves M, Dully, Martrus, Dontar, Dunkin, and Brannoc. All had Ring and Shield with Battle Axes! There was Stryder the Elf Warrior and Mage with Longbow ready to fire.

They all headed back to the Black Stairs ready for Part 1.5 which I will tell later...

The party hires the following NPCsMark the Fighter M Chain and Shield with Sword.The Band of Dwarves M, Dully, Martrus, Dontar, Dunkin, and Brannoc. All had Ring and Shield with Battle Axes!There was Stryder the Elf Warrior and Mage with Longbow ready to fire.

They all headed back to the Black Stairs ready!

The
party went back in and found the slaughter house. An animal pen, a
blood pit that scraps and blood was drained to the unused 3rd level and
the actual kitchen.

The party and their retainers bumbled around
until they attracted the attention of some zombies. The cleric turned
all of one of the dead but the party foolishly pursued the zombies and
lost two dwarfs. The zombies were dispatched though.

The fighter
Mark kept talking smack about the superiority of humans as the party
explored the slaughterhouse area of the dungeon. The Player Dwarf pushed
him down the bloodhole. He survived the fall but the party discovered
he met a gang of ghouls who quickly dispatched foolish Mark but not
before he beheaded one of them. A quick application of oil dispatched
another ghoul but the party knows going deeper they will have to face
them.

They explored a bit more and found a horde of dishes and
silverware. The best find was a huge set of gold candle holders. The
headed back to Raven's Fort where they cashed in the items for gold.

A
party of legend has happened for the last three weeks as the
Adventurers have unleashed a time of drunken debauchery right during The
Summer Festival of the Lottery. With the huge amount of gold the party
has shut down much of the city for the last three weeks. Crops have not
been tended, cows not milked, jobs not done, the city has put in a
virtual standstill. Drunken citizens lay all about the street for the
last three weeks! The party is out of money and the Baron is now
displeased. Time to leave town!

This was a Swords and Wizardyr game but I converted the world to LL/AEC.

Sadly some of the players claimed they did not enjoy the game. IF we would have been using 4E then the same game would have taken MANY sessions. They only wanted to play 4E.

Can there ever be a modern day gaming society or club like there was as described in the Ryth Chronicles? http://www.risusmonkey.com/2011/06/ryth-chronicle-1975-1977.htmlI mean like them but not as primitive. Ryth is still a good read but their style of play was not quite as developed. A return to a large group of gamers. Multiple groups.

Multiple DMs and shared campaigns.

NOT using the overly complicated modern rules. Something like LL/AEC with some house rules added.

I have recently made contact with the Gaming Society at large in my area at a recent Convention.

It appears that the Gaming took over more than half of the Con!

Very little of it was RPGs but still it was a wonderful sign!

There seems to be just a few games of PFRPG and very little else.

An RPG VOID!

I could imagine using my setting The Little Barony and the megadungeon The Black Stairs as a base and then having other GMs make maps adjoining for their campaigns!

SO what to do!

First get an Old School Game going with a few new players and a few experienced ones.I call the speed of Old School Games "The Flow" because the rules don't slow anything down.

The experienced ones are going to be the problem as they like the clunky front end loaded characters (but still really cool and fun to play) of modern gaming.

They can't run the said games (most of the time) and feel free to complain that they are not as powerful but still they can't run them.

I can run anything. I just like less rules and more story.

Most of them could run LL/AEC.

Most of them could add in house rules for many of the options they like. With GM approval of course.

The rest of their problems they will have to just suck it up and actually work to get powerful.

OR is this going to be another failed attempt at trying to play it Old School and let people see my creative vision fulfilled.

Sunday, April 21, 2013

Roll
3d6 in order. 6 times in four columns for
Str, Dex, Con, Int, Wis, and Cha making four characters.

Once
abilities have been determined, each player must roll for a skill.
You are not picking out a class yet but think of the class you WANT.
Each class desired will have a prime requisite, and some classes have
a requirement of a minimum ability score. If the prime requisite
ability is high enough, the character will receive a bonus to
experience. Sometimes, a player will choose a certain class and the
character does not have a prime requisite high enough to receive the
experience bonus. In these cases, 2 ability points may be sacrificed
from one ability to raise one prime requisite ability 1 point. This
may be done more than once, but no ability can be lowered below 9.
There are certain restrictions on how to raise or lower abilities. No
ability may be lowered if it is also a prime requisite for the class,
even if there are a few points to spare above the minimum required
score. Dexterity can only be raised, never lowered. Constitution and
Charisma are the only abilities that may not be modified in any way.

Thursday, April 18, 2013

Analyzing Gencon 2012

The top twenty
role-playing games comprise nearly 60% of the total role-playing games
available. Note: These figures do not account for the many possible
events (including those in the dealer's room) that Wizards of the Coast
and Paizo may reserve just for D&D and Pathfinder, respectively.

Recognizing that Gencon is one of, if not the, largest role-playing
gaming conventions in the world, it provides a unique opportunity for
analysis.

Below are a few figures I put together after sifting through a few
search sessions on the Gencon website. Please note that these numbers
may have a large sample error for several reasons.

Here are some of the numbers in spreadsheet form if that's your thing.

The simple attributes puts the gamer into a different place of just story and not game.

For the game master it blows the lid off of creativity because he can just write it out or make it up as he goes!

Either way is easy!

It spawns in the mind new worlds of fantasy.

FrogGod Games has
discounted their entire line of Swords & Wizardry products for 1 day only
in celebration of Swords & Wizardry appreciation day (April 17th 2013). The
discount is good for 25% off S&W Products but you must use coupon* code SWApprDay
on April 17th 2013 at check out.

The D20PFSRD store is also running a sale on
Swords& Wizardry PDFs. Use the provided link and use coupon code: SWAD252013(feel free to make sure
your fellow gamers know about these sales and the codes)These blogs can also be
found on the blogroll over at 2000coppers.com

Tuesday, April 16, 2013

Here are a few examples of what kind of
adventures one can have in The Olde Realm. It is from my other blog.

A noble family trying to survive
treachery at he hands of other nobles pit against each other by the
royals in a great game of The Higher Order of the Staff and the
Circle as well as business and investments.

A guild trying to run a business
and keep his family safe from other guilds and the games of the
nobles. Also the guild members are trying to climb the social
ladders as well.

A priest and his followers trying
to climb the ladder of the church hierarchy. The higher the position
the greater the advantage and gold. Sides must be taken and things
must be done.

A group of servants trying to run
a household full of intrigue and cruel masters as well as dark
secrets. Always being offered much gold for family secrets. Danger
in the streets during errands from other families and their servants
as well as criminals.

A group of sages trying for grants
from nobles, guilds, and royals for secrets of the ancients and
study of the universe. Worst of all there are the Scholars that are
trying to do the same thing but from an only scientific view.
Debates that end up as battles on the streets will occur.

Young noble males and females in
their secret orders (The Lesser Order of the Staff and the Circle
respectively) vying for future positions in noble families
pitting the lesser swells (those who are trying to become noble
by money such as guild people or rich but primitive foreigners)
against each other just for cruel fun as very few if any ever enter
the society as full members. Of course all these strings are pulled
by the Royals secretly.

Cruel Noble and Royal evil games
against the servants and other low class people. They call them
games but in many cases they are deadly for the lower class people.

A lone thief breaking into
mansions and castles to steal the riches of the nobility and royals.
If you are really good people take notice.

A gang of thieves trying to make
themselves into a legitimate criminal organization. From the guards
to other gangs, life is short and cheap. Only those vicious enough
will survive.

An order of wizards trying to
survive the inquisition of the church. Some orders are powerful and
can elude the church but the weaker must beware. Independent wizards
must work in complete secrecy as magic is though to have destroyed
the world ages ago. They are constantly looking for ancient and
hidden secrets as the clues are hidden everywhere.

A tomb robber going deep into
tombs below the city and in the wilderness to rob the dead. The dead
are not always quiet.

A group of church inquisitors
trying to root out the Bane. If no Bane infested cultist can be
found then wizards and pagans are good targets.

A tinkerer and inventor making
special devices for nobles and guilds and for himself.

A troupe of entertainers trying to
survive, traveling form city to city and town to town.

Gods forbid one might actually
want to become a Bane Cultist worshiping the Bane Gods.

A bounty hunter looking for the
next score.

A bartender trying to keep his
tavern and inn afloat in a city of many taverns. In some cases other
taverns and their patrons attack!

A gang of orphan guttersnipes
trying to survive. Most try and beg and steal and are on their way
to becoming gangs. Most die horribly in violence or as junkies. The
pimps and madams are out looking for the more attractive ones and
the gangs are looking for the most vicious. The guard occasionally
if their numbers too great just go forward and kill every orphan
they find.

An owner of a road inn far in the
wilderness trying to make it. Interesting characters will always
show up and have stories and intrigues. Road inns in the Olde Realm
are huge complexes that have been around for centuries and many are
also full of secrets.

Noble families that are on
holidays at various resorts far in the wildernesses and other exotic
and ancient locations with many festivities and intrigues as well as
deadly games. Woe to the servants and peasants caught in between.
Much gold for those who can take care of business for the nobles.

A Journeyman and his men looking
for work. Unfortunately they are not a part of the guild so they
will have to try and join or work as scabs. Some specialize in
fighting the guilds and are gangs unto themselves.

Sunday, April 14, 2013

At Greyhawk Grognard's Blog.

I got to see the early play test versions of this "what if" game. It is just awesome from what I saw of the earlier versions.Must get my hands on all three books! It is said that there are almost 900 monsters. How does someone do such a thing without a few hundred person editing team?

Players Manual Hard Copies Now Available!

I'm pleased to report that the Adventures Dark and Deep™ Players Manual is now available for sale in both hard cover and soft cover versions through the BRW Games online store.

The soft cover costs $19.95 and the hard cover costs $29.95. Each comes with a complimentary pdf version.

If you purchased a pdf copy of the book before now, in a day or two
you'll be receiving a special offer via email that will allow you to
purchase either book for $9.95 off the cover price, so you're not
penalized for buying the pdf early.

Thanks to everyone who supported the Kickstarter for the book, and everyone can also look forward to the Game Masters Toolkit, which should be available in the May-June time frame.

Saturday, April 13, 2013

Well it has went through many innovations. A freeform version, a version that took into account armor damage stopping ability and a universal chart. Just not as fun as the old roll vs AC so I just went back to that version. You get to buy your powers and for the most part they are preset and preloaded. No fiddiddly power levels and such.

For example: You want to be a human torch type dude? It will cost you 16 Power Points!
Elemental Body Flame: + 9 AC, has body of pure fire, can fly, burn things at +2 with 1-10 damage. P16

Want to be a master of magnetism?
Elemental Power Metal: +3 Magnetic Ray 1-12, Control Magnetism +5 P8

Sunday, April 7, 2013

Just a little exercise. Take your city you live in and using THESE rules below make a fantasy version of YOUR city you live in. Take real world people and convert them into NPCs. Take all of your old characters, adventures, dungeons, and villains from the past and put them in the history. Make a graveyard for dead characters. Write at least a page and draw a map. Make yourself into an PC/NPC based on your gamer street cred.

Lake Charlemagne Core Rules
1.Take your current modern city’s population and divide it by 10. This is your fantasy city’s current population.
2. Use the standard method for character creation. Standard races and classes unless allowed by the DM. Get some
players. Be honest. (THIS WAS 3.5 but now it would be Pathfinder. Not my favorite set of rules but the setting was made based on these rules.)
3. Now start creating maps based off of real world geography. Use most of your main streets and waterways. If living in
dangerous areas the cities need to be walled. Many of the bridges can be replaces by ferry crossings although huge bridges
and landmarks should be converted into gigantic ruins. Add in the demi-human races and their areas. For instance in
forested areas and parks add elves and gnomes. Any rocky areas add Dwarves and such. Don’t forget to add areas where the
foul humanoids live. The world has to be still untamed.
4. We will use the core rulebooks at first and go from there.
5. Every Player and DM MUST contribute to the setting by writing up at least a shop or building in the setting. Yes the
players help write the game making it more theirs. Remember to not go too far.

Other Rules. Time units and Calendar. There are 365 days in a year. Unless the players want to write up a special calendar
then we will use the standard earth calendar, as in days of the week and names of the month. There will be 365 time units
that a character must spend as he plays. One day equals 1 time unit. A week is 7 time units. The starting day of the first
official game will be Jan. the 1st. Year unknown until we come up with a story.

Hell if you make a setting close enough to another it would be bad ass role playing for a bunch of people to get together to go to War or have Espionage or combine settings.